Erwin
Schulhoff completed his String Quartet Op.25 in
1918 after his return from the front. It is an ambitious
work in four movements, in which the still young composer
seems to be flexing his muscles. The opening of the first
movement Frisch und kräftig sounds as if by a much
older composer, with echoes of, say, Brahms and Schumann.
The ensuing development, however, moves into a slightly different
sound world, sometimes recalling early Schönberg, with some
rather unexpected harmonic and rhythmic twists. The second
movement is a warmly lyrical outpouring of great beauty and
often quite moving, although still deeply rooted in tradition.
The third movement Menuett is a relatively short Scherzo
again looking backwards at some older models, e.g. Haydn.
The final movement is a fairly developed Rondo, now often
looking back at Dvorak. This overtly ambitious work is evidently
quite uneven, for the composer seems to be still looking
for a distinctive voice of his own. The music rather lacks
personality or – at least – individuality, which is rather
puzzling since the slightly earlier Divertimento Op.14 (1914)
is much more interesting and musically satisfying in spite
of its indebtedness to the aesthetics of Les Six (it
is dedicated to Darius Milhaud). It is also rather striking
that the sketchy notes accompanying this otherwise most welcome
release remain embarrassingly silent about the String
Quartet Op.25. Moreover, the German and English notes
disagree about the tonality of the string quartet : G-dur
(in German) and D major (in English). Enjoyable as it nevertheless
is, this fairly early string quartet does not add much of
importance to Schulhoff’s reputation, although it certainly
sheds some light on the composer’s doubts at this stage of
his career.

The String
Quartet No.2 of 1925 is a much more personal
and important work. It was written fairly quickly after
the first performance of the First String Quartet (1924
- see review) and the Second Symphony. It is in four
movements again, but the work as a whole is much more
compact than
the
early string quartet. The brief first movement functions
as a short dynamic introduction leading straight into
the second movement, a weighty theme and variations of
some substance in which the composer’s imagination is
given full rein. The variations unfold seamlessly, although
with some strongly contrasted character. There is even
some syncopated, almost jazzy rhythms. The third movement
is a lively, folk-inflected dance-like Scherzo that may
reminds one of some early Bartók. The final movement
is, once again, another fairly developed structure of
some considerable weight. It opens with a dark-hued introduction
rather brutally cut short by the sharp accents that launch
the main part of the Finale, another energetic, buoyant
dance. The slow music of the introduction interrupts
the lively dance rhythms, although it again is cut short
by the animated music that then rushes headlong to the
end. Schulhoff’s Second String Quartet is a splendid
piece of music, which – with its predecessor of 1924 – represents
its composer at his best. They definitely deserve to
become part of the repertoire of Czech string quartets
along with those of Janacek and Martinu.

The
Schulhoff Quartett’s well-prepared and committed readings
certainly make the best of this often quite beautiful music.
I am in no doubt about it: the Second String Quartet is a
minor masterpiece that clearly deserves a permanent place
in the repertoire. The only drawback with this release, if
there must be one, is the inclusion of the early String
QuartetOp.25 that, attractive as it
is, definitely does not add to Schulhoff’s reputation. But,
again, I for one would not be without the Second String Quartet.

Reviews
from previous monthsJoin the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the
discs reviewed. detailsWe welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin
Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to
which you refer.